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Bats Take Six-Game Streak into Final Week

March 11, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League, 27-28-6 on the 2003-04 season, were officially eliminated from the playoff chase last week. But by winning their last six games, including five straight on the road, the Bats forced Rio Grande Valley to earn the final Southern Conference playoff spot. The Ice Bats can still finish above .500 for the season by winning their final three games this weekend at Corpus Christi, Laredo and Fort Worth.

A look back: The Ice Bats ran their late-season winning streak to six games, winning the first five games on their season-ending eight-game road trip. The Bats traveled nearly 2,000 bus miles to and from their four games last week, and won all four.

Last Tuesday, the Ice Bats kept their lifetime record perfect against Oklahoma City, edging the Blazers, 3-2. Austin's Tab Lardner opened scoring four minutes in, sliding a shorthanded breakaway goal under Blazer goalie Boyd Ballard. Oklahoma City tied the score at the 11-minute mark on a Brad Herauf goal.

Midway through the second, the Bats killed a key double-minor on Jaroslav Jabrocky, then scored a pair of goals just over three minutes apart. Chris Richards' power play goal was followed by a Brett Seguin score on a 2-on-1 rush.

The Blazers' Peter Robertson slammed in a goal off a Blair Manning wraparound with 4-1/2 minutes left in the third, but Oklahoma City couldn't get the equalizer, despite an extra attacker in the final moments. Seguin led scoring with two points, while Austin goalie Brent Belecki stopped 45 of 47 shots faced. The Ice Bats won their third straight game for the first time since New Year's Eve, and consecutive road games for the first time this season. And they finished the season a perfect 8-0 lifetime against the Blazers.

A look back, continued: On Thursday, the Ice Bats ventured to Memphis in a rematch of the last two President's Cup Finals series. Twice the Bats retaliated quickly from one-goal deficits, then won 4-3 in overtime.

Austin defenseman Arturs Kupaks opened scoring midway through the first with a Latvian laser from the right circle. Memphis' Alexandre Mathieu tied the game late in the period from the top of the left circle. Despite a 14-3 Memphis shot advantage, the score was tied after one.

The RiverKings took their first lead five minutes into the second on a Derek Landmesser goal through traffic. But two minutes later, the Bats struck back on the power play, with Chris Richards pulling a face-off win back for Kupaks' goal from the point. Nine minutes into the third, Don Parsons gave the RiverKings the lead back, but again, two minutes later, Austin's Mike Olynyk chopped down a centering pass in the low slot and swept it into the net.

Outshot 13-5 in the third, the Bats extended the game to overtime. And with 21 seconds left in OT, the Ice Bats won it. Austin's Brandon Carper threw the puck up the left wall, Kelly Smart chased it down below the goal line, and centered to Olynyk for the game-winner.

Olynyk and Kupaks scored two goals each, as the Ice Bats won their fourth straight for the first time all year. Memphis outshot the Bats, 41-20.

Friday, the Ice Bats outlasted Tulsa for another overtime win, 5-4. The Bats jumped on the sluggish Oilers for two goals in the first 7:22. Gerald Tallaire slammed in Mike Olynyk's wraparound pass two minutes in, and Arturs Kupaks took advantage of terrific puck movement for a power play goal.

The Oilers came alive late in the period for two scores, a Doug Pirnak breakaway and a pretty backhander from Dan Gravelle. Then after a scoreless second, Tulsa built a 4-2 lead quickly in the third on goals by Jan Vrtik and Wes Scanzano. Just 31 seconds after Scanzano's goal, however, Austin's Tab Lardner came from behind the net for a backhand goal. And the Bats tied the score at 14:22 on Brent Hughes' power play rebound.

With 50 seconds left in overtime, Austin's Darryl McArthur wove through two defenders and centered to Tallaire for the winner. With two goals, Tallaire was one of five Ice Bats with two points on the night. Again the Ice Bats were outshot by a wide margin, 42-28, but converted on two of four power play chances. Despite the win, the Bats were eliminated from the playoff chase with Rio Grande Valley's win at Lubbock.

The Ice Bats finished the week with another wild affair, outpacing San Angelo 7-4 on Saturday. Despite elimination, the Ice Bats roared out of the gate, taking the first nine shots and scoring on Gerald Tallaire's second rebound 59 seconds in. Brandon Carper added a goal at the four-minute mark, and after Brant Nicklin replaced Scott Reid in net for San Angelo, Austin defenseman Derek Stone stretched the lead to 3-0. The Bats outshot the Saints 18-6 in the period.

In the second, Steve Roberts put San Angelo on the board on a misplay by Austin goalie Jonathan Forest above the left circle. But 18 seconds later, Brett Seguin cashed in on a 2-on-1 rush, and just under three minutes after that, Tab Lardner dug the puck out near the net and centered to Kelly Smart for a score.

Trailing 5-1 to start the third, the Saints battled back for three scores in 3-1/2 minutes midway through the period. Brent Belecki replaced Forest in net, and Chris Richards salted the game away with a late power play goal and a shorthanded empty-netter. 13 Ice Bats were represented in the scoring column, led by Richards, Seguin and Carper, all with three-point efforts.

A ‘Grand' Career: With his goal Saturday in San Angelo, Ice Bats center Brett Seguin reached the 1,000-point mark for his professional career. Earlier this season, Seguin entered among the top 50 career scorers in the history of minor pro hockey.

Player Plaudits: Center Chris Richards ranks in the top 20 in league scoring, with 23 goals and 44 assists. Forward Gerald Tallaire is second on the team, with 15 goals and 36 assists. Brent Hughes ranks among the top five CHL rookies with 22 goals and 21 assists, while Arturs Kupaks is among the top ten defensemen with 9 goals and 27 assists. And Jonathan Forest ranks among the top 13 league goalies, at 19-15-5, with a 2.72 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Best of the Best: Ice Bats center Brett Seguin was voted "Best on Face-offs" in this year's CHL "Best of the Best" Poll, conducted among league teams. Forward Chris Richards was third in voting for "Best Playmaker," and Austin was once again selected "Best City" in the poll.

Potential Bite Victims: Corpus Christi will miss the post-season for the third straight year in the CHL, and at 22-36-3, the Rayz are assured of a last-place division finish for the second time in three years. And things keep getting worse. Top scorer Mike Tilson (10 goals, 24 assists) is on leave from the team while dealing with legal issues stemming from a recent arrest. Corpus Christi ranks among the bottom four teams on both offense (2.56 goals per game) and defense (3-1/2 average goals allowed). They're 15th on the power play (12.2%), and last on the penalty kill (80.5%). Behind Tilson in scoring are forwards Jonathan St. Louis (16 goals, 16 assists) and Jay Woodcroft (16 goals, 15 assists). Goalie Greg Hewitt is 8-11, with a 3.34 GAA. The Rayz do rank 2nd in average penalty minutes (over 25 minutes per game) and Brad Wingfield leads the league with 348 individual minutes. 15-13-2 at home, the Rayz are playing their final weekend at the Memorial Coliseum, as they get set to move into a new home arena next year. The remaining question now is-- who will lead them? At his request when hired in January, Coach Malcolm Cameron's contract expires at the end of the season.

With a 48-8-6 record, Laredo has sewn up the regular season title and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Bucks enter the final week leading the league on offense (4.18 goals per game), defense (2.26 goals allowed per outing), average penalty minutes (29-plus minutes per game) and the power play (24.2%). And although a close second on the penalty kill (89.2%), the Bucks have scored a league-most 20 shorthanded goals. MVP finalist Jeff Bes has 38 goals and 77 assists, and will win the scoring title. 3rd in the league with 45 goals and 41 assists, Chris Grenville leads the league with 23 power play goals. 2nd among defensemen, Serge Dube has 18 goals and 49 assists, and is a whopping +40. One of two Bucks on call-up to San Antonio (AHL), Brent Cullaton has been gone six weeks, and still ranks among the league's top ten scorers, with 25 goals and 50 assists in 39 games. Forward Jason Spence is the other Laredo player currently seeing action at the next level. This year's CHL Rookie of the Year, David Guerrera is 26-4-4 in net, with a 2.11 GAA, .931 save percentage and four shutouts. 2nd among league goalies, Guerrera could get the starting nod in the playoffs over the equally sound Marco Emond (22-4-2, 2.15 GAA). 27-2-1 on home ice, the Bucks finish the regular season hosting Rio Grande Valley and Austin.

The playoffs a long-distant memory, Fort Worth followed up a 16-41-7 season last year with a 14-38-9 record heading into the final week this year. The Brahmas showed some spunk after the mid-season hiring of Coach Al Sims, but now have dropped 13 games in a row for the second time this year. Last on the power play (10.9%), last on offense (2.33 goals per game), and 16th defensively (3.66 average goals allowed), the Brahmas have to be looking forward to the end of the season. Winger Derrell Upton leads the team with 14 goals and 30 assists, while Chad Woollard has 18 goals, 20 assists, and center Aaron Davis 17 goals and 20 helpers. Scott English ranks 4th in the league with 270 penalty minutes. Goalie duty has been split for some time between Tyler Nilsson (9-18-4, 3.55 GAA) and Erasmo Saltarelli (4-18-5, 3.54 GAA). 8-17-5 at home, the Brahmas play out the string with a game at San Angelo Friday, followed by weekend home games against Tulsa and the Bats.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 44-20-4 lifetime against Corpus Christi, 4-4-2 this year. The Bats are 1-2-2 this season in Corpus, as they play for the final time at the Memorial Coliseum. The division rivals last met February 28th, with the Bats claiming a 3-1 win in Austin.

The Bats are 8-10-1 lifetime against Laredo in regular season play, but just 1-7-1 this year. The Bucks have won the last five overall meetings in the series, and have outscored the Bats 20-5 in their four series wins in Laredo.

Austin is 41-18-1 lifetime against Fort Worth. 2-3 against the Brahmas this year, the Bats will try to square the season series in the final meeting. The Ice Bats are 1-2 this year at Fort Worth, after earning a 2-1 shootout win February 29th.

Comments from the Coach:

On last week: "A bunch of guys had great starts to the trip. Mike Olynyk may have been our best player, with the intensity and grit he displayed, plus some scoring. Tab Lardner has had a good trip, and Arturs Kupaks is showing the offensive ability we expected. And Brett Seguin got his 1,000th point, which was something our team wanted."

"I'm grateful for the wins, but it's bittersweet. Whether it's because our team was relaxed with no pressure on us, or whatever the reason, we've been able to play better and score. It forces me to look at our team a little harder to try to figure out why certain players didn't perform under pressure. And I have this summer to do that. So while I'm happy for the players, I'm still disappointed we're not in the playoffs. And we'll be recruiting hard to put a championship quality team on the ice next season."

On this week: "We want to finish out strong. There's really nothing riding on the games for either team this weekend besides the opportunity to better our record. So the goal is just to go out there and play hard. And there are still guys battling for jobs for next year. It's one big audition right now."

Post-Season Party: Fans are invited to join the Ice Bats at the team's season-ending Season Ticket Holder Awards Party and Jersey Auction, to take place next Wednesday, March 17th, starting at 7pm at Dave & Buster's. Ice Bats players will receive the Texas Dodge Dealers Post-Season Player Awards, based on fans' on-line voting. And the team's game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off to benefit Ice Bats Children's Charities. Dave & Buster's is located at MoPac and Research Blvd.

In the Air: For the second straight season, all Ice Bats away games are broadcast on ESPN Radio, now 1260 and 1530 on the AM dial. The stations will broadcast all road games during the 2003-04 regular season and CHL Playoffs. All road games are also available live on-line, through www.SportsJuice.com. The Texas Dodge Dealers Warm-up Show begins 20 minutes prior to game time. Ice Bats Director of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman will handle play-by-play duties for a sixth straight season.

Bats in Cyberspace: Bats fans can learn the latest about their team by logging on to www.icebats.com. The official website of the Bats was newly re-designed by BeyondBeyond Design and constructed by webmaster Nathan Jones.

Home or away, Bats fans can also follow the action with real-time scoring on the website, courtesy of Pointstreak.com. Fans will be able to access a game box score in real-time, as well as those of all other CHL games being played.

THIS WEEK:
Fri., Mar. 12th, 7:05pm, vs. Corpus Christi Rayz, at Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas
Sat., Mar. 13th, 7:30pm, vs. Laredo Bucks, at Laredo Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas
Sun., Mar. 14th, 3:00pm, vs. Fort Worth Brahmas, at Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas

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